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I take a new, white sheet of paper, my favorite pen – the one with the dark blue ink that writes so smoothly – and start writing. Oh yes, this is going to be such a good summary. But then it happend. I made a typing error; the „rn“ looks like an „m“. Dammit. No Tipp-Ex around. I guess I have to start all over!

It’s 8pm and Im getting ready for a night out. The outfit is already decided and now let’s do the make up. I’m going for cateyes. Challenge accepted! So I pull off the first eyeliner on my right lid and it turns out perfectly. Alright, same thing other side now… mh not bad, but I can do better! I take a cotton bud and the procedure starts again. And again. And maybe again until it often ends in a disaster rather than in a perfect eyeliner.

If you have recognized yourself in these scenarios, then you are probably also a perfectionist. Accordingly, some things just need to reach a certain standard while mistakes need to be reduced to a minimum. This is especially the case with things or activities, we believe we are extraordinary good at and therefore we have to prove it to ourselves every time. So once we have reached our standard, or even surpassed it, we feel confirmed and are proud of ourselves. However, it can also take a complete different way when we let the perfectionism take control over us: It will waste our time, make us insecure and leave us with an even worse result. And this is exactly what we were trying to avoid.

Perfectionism, up to a certain extent, does not necessarily have to be something bad, quite the contrary actually, as it helps us to grow and improve ourselves, however, only under the condition that we are able to control the perfectionist in us, and not vice versa. Meaning, at some point realizing our endless persistence and simply saying „Screw it!“ and be content with what we have accomplished. Because even if it does not seem perfect to us, we can still be proud of ourselves and spare a lot of time and nerves.

Ranim is a 23-year old student from Münster, Germany. She just finished her studies in International Business at Maastricht University and the University of Sydney. Since May 2012 she blogs about fashion, beauty and her life. Currently she's in Berlin.